The Ukrainian passive fire protection market in 2025, according to preliminary estimates, is worth $8-12 million, with the share of imported materials falling from 80% in 2016 to 17% in 2025, according to the Experts Club analytical centre.
‘Local production reduces costs compared to imported counterparts, which is especially important for large-scale restoration projects,’ said Konstantin Kalafat, co-owner and director of Kovlar Group, quoted in the article.
According to an analytical study by the Ukrainian manufacturer of passive fire protection products, Kovlar Group, based on the interim results of the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2025 in Rome, provided that the hostilities end, the market could grow to $25 million by 2026. It is expected that the demand structure will be dominated by specialised fire-retardant paints (70-80%), fire-retardant plasters and slabs – 5-10%; passage sealing and communication protection systems – 5-10%; ventilation, smoke ducts and wood protection products – about 5%. An additional driver may be the growing demand for epoxy and polyurethane fire protection systems for oil and gas infrastructure, energy and strategic facilities – a segment that was previously limited by the high cost of imported analogues.
Experts Club notes that against the backdrop of war and logistical constraints, import substitution continues, and in 2025, Ukrainian manufacturers and international brands were simultaneously present on the market through suppliers and certified systems, in particular Ammokote, Hensotherm, Defens, Promapaint, and Steelguard. The leader of the segment in public estimates is Kovlar Group, which claims a share of about 65% of the Ukrainian fire protection materials market and a portfolio of more than 25 items of fire protection products and related materials; other notable Ukrainian manufacturers include Kapitel Dnipro and NVP Spetsmaterialy.
EXPERTS CLUB, fire protection material, Kovlar Group, Калафат
On August 14-25, about 100 similar publications appeared in the Ukrainian media aimed at discrediting Kovlar Group, its founders and employees.
Kovlar Group Director Kostiantyn Kalafat believes that these publications are part of a planned information campaign related to the activities of dishonest competitors who, with the support of corrupt officials, participate in public procurement of fire protection materials. “As the practice of tenders in recent years shows, the price of Ammokote fire retardants produced by Kovlar Group is much lower than the price of products used by dishonest businessmen who cheat the state and steal hundreds of millions of hryvnias from the Ukrainian budget,” he said.
It should be noted that the topic of multimillion-dollar embezzlement of budget funds in tenders for fire protection of state-owned facilities was investigated by Yuriy Nikolov, a journalist of the Nashi Hroshi project. According to his investigations, in 2014, 2019 and 2024, the overpricing of fireproof paint and putty for the needs of the nuclear industry was up to 5 times, and in projects to build covers for strategic energy facilities – up to 10 times.
Media community experts estimate the cost of such an attack at $50-100 thousand, which indicates the seriousness of the intentions of the black PR customers to ruin the reputation of the flagship of the Ukrainian fireproofing industry, which prevents embezzlement in public procurement.
It is likely that the ultimate goal of the attack by corrupt businessmen is to shut down the largest Ukrainian manufacturer of fire protection materials, which creates transparent rules of the game in the market and offers one of the lowest prices for its products. If this plan comes to fruition, the construction industry will see a significant increase in prices for fire protection, and the state will be forced to spend significantly more money on the purchase of fire protection materials.
Established in 2015, Kovlar Group produces more than 25 types of passive fire protection products using modern technologies, which allows Ukrainian construction customers to receive high-quality products at an affordable price. Scientific developments and a customer-oriented approach have allowed the company to grow from a startup to the largest domestic fire protection manufacturer in 9 years, which currently holds about 60% of the market.
The company said that despite the information attack, it continues to operate as usual and invest in the development of new products. Kovlar Group is also taking all possible measures to bring to justice those involved in the creation and dissemination of defamatory information and is preparing statements to the National Police of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine and the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine to investigate the incident.
Source: https://kovlargroup.com/uk/spovishhayemo-pro-diskreditatsijnu-informatsijnu-kampaniyu-proti-kovlar-grup/
